No Shareholder or U.K. Hurdles for Avis-Zipcar Merger

The United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading determined there is no need to investigate the Avis Budget Group's (NASDAQ: CAR) acquisition of Zipcar (UNKNOWN: ZIP.DL2) for U.K. antitrust law violation, according to a joint announcement yesterday by both companies.

The Avis Budget Group, with 28,000 employees, has more than 10,000 rental locations in approximately 175 countries. Zipcar has almost 10,000 cars for sharing among its 777,000 members in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Spain, and Austria.

The U.S. Department of Justice has essentially approved the transaction by not reviewing it during the 30-day period mandated by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act. That window closed on Feb. 11.

A special meeting of Zipcar stockholders held on March 7 upheld the deal, and the companies anticipate that the transaction will become final during the week of March 11.

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